


Nothing More Terrible, Nothing More True

by ChiaRoseKuro



Series: A World of One's Own [26]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Character Study, Drabble, Gen, Prompt Fic, Songfic, Uchiha Massacre
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 17:22:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19816981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChiaRoseKuro/pseuds/ChiaRoseKuro
Summary: Danzou had made no proviso for his father, loudest among the Uchiha dissenters, or for his mother, unable to speak out against the rebellion without weakening his father’s position. Itachi knows the councilman could not possibly offer anything more, knows that the ultimatum is nothing more than manipulation baited with a minor but tempting morsel of comfort, but…“What if talking isn’t enough?” Itachi whispers, and Shisui pauses in the middle of his inane chatter. “If fighting was the only possibility left… Shisui, whose side would you take?”(in another world, Itachi is offered a choice that is no choice at all, but in this one...)





	Nothing More Terrible, Nothing More True

**Author's Note:**

> If you're more than happy to never raise questions about the necessity of the Uchiha Massacre, have the warm and fuzzies for Danzou or Itachi, dislike mentions of what's essentially genocide in Naruto or simply clicked on this by accident, the 'back' button is at your disposal. This is the first in a series that will examine the Uchiha Massacre and how utterly _stupid_ it was while offering a more viable (and somewhat darker) alternative, so if you're not fond of morally grey fix-its? Then this is most definitely not the story or series for you.
> 
> Special thanks to Heize's and Giriboy's _We Don't Talk Together_ for inspiring me to write this within a few hours (because even though it's a messy break-up song of sorts, its melody and that final piano piece fits the mood perfectly), the prompt 'would you come to my funeral?' for giving me the impetus to begin writing this series, and pretty much every Naruto story by blackkat that examines and criticizes Itachi for inspiring me to also examine and criticize him. Because, seriously, for a pacifist? Trying to kill everyone is never the answer, and this series is going to problematize that aspect of canon a lot.

* * *

_But if a clan of Uchiha’s calibre started a civil war, it would’ve shaken not only the foundations of Konoha, but the Fire Country itself._

_The Uchiha’s selfish desire for power would have caused the deaths of countless innocent bystanders._

“This mission… will you accept it?”

With Danzou’s ultimatum turning through his mind, with his clan’s discontented grumbles floating through the chill air, Itachi leans back against the roof of his family home and looks up at the moon. It’s a little obscured, paler thanks to the presence of wispy clouds, but the glow is unmistakeable and his eyes find it unerringly.

When had everything gone wrong—in the horror of the Third Shinobi War? When his parents began expecting too much instead of expressing surprise at his progress? When he’d entered ANBU, when he’d made the mistake of telling his parents about his attendance of council meetings—but then, could his misery even be contained in a single, defining moment?

Itachi had seen the heartbreak in his little brother’s eyes when their father had brushed off his achievements, tasted faint bitterness in the back of his tongue at the metric Fugaku was forcing onto Sasuke. For all his gentle encouragement, for all he tried to praise and support Sasuke when he could, he was never there for long enough—but he was still better than his parents.

And he knows, even now, that Danzou’s ultimatum has its allure. Oh, the mere _thought_ of killing his entire clan is enough to make him nauseated—but he remembers, still, the screaming nightmares he desperately tried to muffle in his pillow.

If Sasuke bore witness to his family fighting against his village, felt someone’s lifeblood splatter over his cheek and smelled the fetid stench of death… what would it do to his innocence? To spare his little brother one form of trauma in exchange for another, though even Itachi could recognize his clansmen growing arrogant and spiteful in their discontented superiority… was it really his place to decide their fates?

“Kunai for your thoughts?” a cheerful voice interjects then, and Itachi tilts his head just enough to see Shisui land right beside him. “You’ve got enough wrinkle lines without adding to them, old man,” his cousin jokes a few seconds later, but Itachi obligingly shuffles aside so Shisui can lie down too.

Danzou had made no proviso for his father, loudest among the Uchiha dissenters, or for his mother, unable to speak out against the rebellion without weakening his father’s position. Itachi knows the councilman could not possibly offer anything more, knows that the ultimatum is nothing more than manipulation baited with a minor but tempting morsel of comfort, but…

“What if talking isn’t enough?” Itachi whispers, and Shisui pauses in the middle of his inane chatter. “If fighting was the only possibility left… Shisui, whose side would you take?”

It’s a testament to his intelligence, foolish though he pretends to be, that Shisui immediately grasps the tangent of Itachi’s thoughts. “Why would fighting be the only possibility left?” he asks, folding his hands behind his head and staring up at the moon too, and the question’s enough to throw Itachi off entirely.

“Weren’t you the one going on about pacifism to me?” Shisui asks next, before Itachi can recover his mental equilibrium. “All this talk about brokering peace between our clan and the village, only for you to ask something so stupid now… have you truly become an old man, Itachi?”

But what can he say in response? How can he share Danzou’s ultimatum without heavy repercussions falling upon him?

“I don’t want anyone to die,” Itachi confesses quietly, “but we’re running out of time.”

They’d talked about Shisui’s Mangekyo just once, partway through a courier mission where they knew no unfriendly ears were nearby—but Itachi had blanched at the thought of eliminating others’ freewill, too, and now there was only the path ahead of them.

 _I was given a choice,_ he signs to Shisui then, the secret code they came up with on other missions since. _Let everyone die if the uprising went through, or stop them myself and spare just Sasuke._

 _Not even me?_ Shisui fires back, lips paler than the obscured moon.

 _Not even you,_ Itachi signs with trembling hands, breathing just a touch harsher than it should be—

But then Shisui’s vehemently signing _that’s not a choice at **all**_ and _to hell with everyone, we’ll make our **own** choice_ and it’s so very Shisui that Itachi almost laughs aloud. It’s not perfect—could even be considered terrifying, when he thinks about just how hard it will be going against both his clan and his village—but Shisui’s right.

Itachi is a pacifist, a boy forced to grow up in too short a time, and he loves both his village and his clan. In the face of that love, for all that his village and his clan no longer seem to love him back…

He couldn’t give Danzou an answer, back then, but now Itachi knows exactly what he’d say.  
  


* * *

  
On a moonless night, with his cousin by his side, Itachi closes his eyes and sets out on the new path he’s forged for them all.

When the sun rises the next morning, bathing the village in its radiant light… there is blood splattered across the Uchiha compound and not a single living soul in sight. It is, for all intents and purposes, a flawless execution of Danzou’s mission—

Except, if even a single person had thought to search thoroughly instead of shutting the compound off, they might have noticed one strange little detail.

There was not a single living soul in sight… but after twenty-four hours had elapsed, there was not a single body to be found, either.

**Author's Note:**

> For further author notes and other things related to this fic or series, feel free to check out my [blog](https://chiarosekuro.wordpress.com/). Alternately, potential prompts and other sorts of inspiration can be found on my [Tumblr](https://chroku-n.tumblr.com/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/chroku_n/) if that tickles your fancy instead - or, if you'd like your own shiny new oneshot, you can request one from me [here](https://chiarosekuro.wordpress.com/commissions/).


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